Turkey mulls more regular flights to Kazakhstan

The aviation authorities of Kazakhstan and Turkey may increase the number of regular flights between the countries, primeminister.kz writes citing chairman of the Civil Aviation Commission of Kazakhstan Ministry of Transport and Communications Beken Seidakhmetov. According to him, Turkish aviation authorities are ready to discuss the increase starting from September. “Amid the new circumstances Turkey is ready to consider an intergovernment agreement expanding the horizons of our relations. In particular, we are considering an increase in the number of the regular flights between Kazakhstan and Turkey,” Seidakhmetov said. He stressed that Turkish authorities are interested in Kazakhstan market and, so they are ready to increase the number of regular flights in response to the ban imposed by Kazakhstan on their charter flights. According to the official, Kazakhstan was asking about expansion of the flights geography to cover a wide range of Turkish cities, suggesting to involve Kazakhstan’s regional airports. However, he said, Turkish aviation authorities are insisting on performing regular flights to Istanbul only. Kazakhstan initially tried to introduce a ban on foreign charter flights from Kazakhstan starting from July 21. The regulation was called to give greater guarantees to passengers and ensure better control over flights safety, the Commission explained. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan Tourist Association asked the authorities to postpone introduction of the ban on foreign charter flights from Kazakhstan until November 1, 2013, since Kazakhstan tourist companies had signed contracts with foreign airlines for the summer season and Kazakhstan air carriers had yet to prepare for the new system and raise their capacities to meet the market's demand.